BREAKING NEWS

BREAKING NEWS

ATM theft suspect nabbed in Louisiana

A Canton man wanted in connection with an ATM theft in St. Lawrence County has been apprehended by police in Louisiana.

The Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested Joseph C. Lugo on Monday afternoon following a complaint about a suspicious person, according to the Gueydan Journal.

He was wanted by New York State Police for his involvement in the attempted theft of an ATM at NBT Bank in Lake Placid last November, as well as the theft of an ATM from St. Lawrence University’s Brewer Bookstore.

Investigators with the Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office questioned Lugo and then determined he was wanted in New York, the Gueydan Journal reported Monday.

The Enterprise couldn’t determine Lugo’s whereabouts as of press time this morning. Attempts to reach an investigator with the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation were unsuccessful Tuesday.

State police said last year that Lugo was involved with the attempted theft of an ATM in Lake Placid on Nov. 10, 2012. Lugo and Joseph C. Crandall of Canton, wearing masks and ski goggles, allegedly drove up to the NBT Bank on Saranac Avenue and tried to use a blowtorch and a metal pry bar to break into the machine. Their attempts were unsuccessful, police said at the time, but they damaged the ATM so much the bank had to replace it. Police then used surveillance tape to identify the suspects.

Days later, on Nov. 16, Lugo was pulled over for driving erratically in the town of Canton and charged with second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, and failure to keep right. Crandall was with him at the time.

Lugo was arraigned on the traffic charges and released. Early the next morning, the duo allegedly broke into SLU’s bookstore and stole an ATM containing about $35,000. Crandall was caught and charged with second-degree criminal mischief, a class D felony, and fourth-degree grand larceny, a class E felony.

Police were able to recover $17,600 from Crandall as well as the stolen ATM.

Crandall was 21 at the time of his arrest last fall. Lugo’s age could not be determined.